The Wonderful Man

There is a certain Prefectural city in the south of China, which has earned a reputation distinguishing it from all such towns throughout the Empire.

中国の南に、ある府城があって、帝国じゅうのそうした町々のなかで、ひときわ際立った評判を得ていた。

In outward appearance this city is very much like every other of similar size. The streets are narrow, and the houses are crowded close up to each other. Every foot of land has been utilized, and no room has been left for sanitation, or for parks and open spaces, where the people may breathe the pure air of heaven. These things are modern inventions of the West and have never yet touched the thought or the life of the East, where sullen heat, fetid atmosphere, and stifling surroundings are the natural inheritance of the men and women who throng the cities and crowd and elbow each other in the great battle of life.

外から見れば、この町は同じくらいの大きさのほかの町とたいして変わらない。通りは狭く、家々は互いにぴったりと押し合うように建ち並んでいる。土地は一尺残らず使い尽くされ、衛生のための余地も、人々が天の澄んだ空気を吸える公園や広場の余地も残されていない。そうしたものは西洋の新しい発明であって、東洋の考えや暮らしにはまだ一度も触れたことがない。東洋では、重苦しい暑さと、よどんだ悪臭の空気と、息の詰まるような環境こそが、町々にひしめき、生存の大いなる戦いのなかで押し合いへし合いする男女の、生まれながらの受け継ぎなのである。

There was one thing, however, for which this city was deservedly celebrated. It had a great reputation for learning, and was famous as the abode of scholars.

けれども一つだけ、この町が当然のように名を馳せていることがあった。学問の町として大いに評判が高く、学者の住まう町として名高かったのである。

In the main thoroughfares, where men with a dexterity begotten of long experience just managed to evade jostling each other, the long-gowned students were conspicuous by their numbers. Their pale intellectual faces, and their gleaming black eyes burning with hidden fires, marked them out distinctly from the farmers and artisans and coolies, with their coarser, heavier features, who moved along side by side with them. And down the narrow alley-ways, where fetid smells and impure airs floated the live-long day, one's ear would catch the shrill tones of more youthful students, who in unhealthy rooms were mastering aloud the famous classics of China, in order that in time they might compete in the triennial examinations for the prizes offered by the Empire to its scholars.

大通りでは、人々が長年の経験から身につけた器用さでかろうじてぶつからずにすれ違っていたが、そこでは長衣をまとった書生たちが、その数の多さで目を引いた。その青白い知的な顔と、秘めた炎に燃える輝く黒い目は、並んで歩く、より粗く重たげな顔立ちの百姓や職人や苦力たちから、くっきりと際立っていた。そして一日じゅう悪臭と汚れた空気の漂う狭い路地を行けば、もっと年若い書生たちの甲高い声が耳に入った。不衛生な部屋で中国の名高い経書を声に出して覚えているのである。やがて、帝国が学者に与える栄誉を競う三年ごとの科挙に臨むためであった。

The ambition for learning was in the air, and a belated wayfarer, wandering down the labyrinth of streets in the early hours of the morning, would hear the solemn stillness broken into by the voices of the students, as in their highest tones they repeated the writings of the great sages.

学問への大望が町の空気に満ちていた。明け方に迷路のような通りをさまよう遅い旅人は、厳かな静けさが書生たちの声に破られるのを聞いたであろう。書生たちは声を張り上げて、偉大な聖賢の書を繰り返し唱えていたのである。

The town was therefore dear to the God of Literature, who has ever been ready to champion the cause of his scholars, whenever anyone has dared to lay a hand upon their privileges.

それゆえこの町は、文昌帝君(学問の神)にとって愛おしい町であった。この神は、誰かが書生たちの特権に手をかけようとするときには、いつでも彼らの味方をする用意があったのである。

A legend in which there is widespread belief declares that on one occasion, when the scholars of five counties had assembled at a triennial examination, the Imperial Examiner, who for some reason or other had conceived a spite against the competitors from this particular city, determined that not one of them should pass.

広く信じられている言い伝えによれば、あるとき五つの県の書生たちが三年ごとの科挙に集まったとき、何かの理由でこの町の受験者たちに恨みを抱いた朝廷の試験官が、この町の者は一人も合格させるまいと決めたという。

As their essays came into his hands, he carefully laid them in a pile close beside him on the table. The God of Literature, who was sitting in his shrine at the far end of the room, became indignant at the insult that was about to be put on his favourites, and breathed some classic phrases under his breath, to the effect that he would never allow such a wrong to be perpetrated as long as he had power to prevent it.

その答案が手元に届くたびに、試験官は卓の上の傍らに注意深く積み重ねていった。部屋のいちばん奥の祠に座していた学問の神は、自分の寵愛する者たちにいまにも加えられようとしている侮辱に憤り、力の及ぶかぎりそのような不正は決して行わせぬという意味の、古典の文句を息をひそめて唱えた。

The last paper had been examined and laid carefully on the top of the others, when, as if by a flash of lightning, the examiner was seized with a stroke of paralysis, and fell to the ground unconscious. That was the answer of the God to his evil schemes.

最後の答案が調べ終えられ、ほかの答案の上に注意深く置かれたそのとき、稲妻がひらめいたかのように試験官は卒中に襲われ、意識を失って床に倒れた。それがこの神の、邪な企みへの答えであった。

The greatest dismay was exhibited by the under-officials of the examination. Thousands of students were waiting outside for the list to be issued of those who had passed, but the only man who had the power to prepare this list lay helpless in the grip of paralysis. Yet something must be done, and that speedily. As they looked over the manuscripts lying on the table, a little pile was discovered, evidently placed there by the examiner for some purpose of his own. One of the officials at once suggested that these must belong to the men who had gained their degrees. The idea was enthusiastically accepted as the correct one. There was no need for further delay. The names of the writers were hurriedly copied out and pasted up on the board in front of the Examination Hall.

試験の下役たちはたいそう狼狽した。何千という書生が合格者の名簿が発表されるのを外で待っているのに、その名簿をこしらえる権限を持つただ一人の男が、卒中にとらえられて動けなくなっているのである。けれども何か手を打たねばならない、それも速やかに。卓の上に置かれた答案を調べていると、試験官が何かの目的のためにわざわざそこに置いたらしい、小さな山が見つかった。役人の一人がすぐさま、これは合格した者たちの答案に違いないと言い出した。この考えは正しいものとして熱心に受け入れられた。もうぐずぐずする必要はなかった。書き手たちの名は急いで写し取られ、試験場の前の掲示板に貼り出された。

To the amazement of all the assembled scholars, the only men who had got their degrees were those belonging to the city favoured of the God. This was the God's second answer to the examiner, who would unjustly have excluded them from the honours of the day.

集まった書生たち一同の驚いたことに、合格したのは、神に寵愛されたあの町の者たちだけであった。これが、その日の栄誉から彼らを不当に締め出そうとした試験官への、神の二つ目の答えであった。

There was another thing for which the people of this city were noted, and that was the pleasure taken by the leaders of society in recognizing those who displayed conspicuous civic virtues.

この町の人々が知られていることがもう一つあった。それは、社会の指導者たちが、目立って立派な市民の徳を示した人々を讃えることを喜んでいた、ということである。

Outside one of the four gates, and well beyond the streets and houses which had grown up as an overflow from the great city, there was a considerable open space, through the middle of which the main road meandered on its way to the countless towns and villages in the regions beyond, and finally to the far-off capital, Peking, thousands of miles away in the extreme north. It was a busy, much-frequented road, and the tread of human feet and the sound of the voices of passing travellers never ceased from early dawn until darkness had fallen and driven men to the shelter of the city.

町の四つの門の一つの外、大きな町からあふれ出して広がった通りや家々をさらに越えたところに、かなりの広さの空き地があった。そのただ中を本街道がくねりながら通り、その先の数えきれぬ町や村へ、そしてついには何千里も北の果てにある遠い都、北京へと続いていた。人通りの多い賑やかな街道で、人の足音と行き交う旅人の声は、夜明けから、暗くなって人々を町の中へ追いやるまで、絶えることがなかった。

The striking feature about the long stretch of uninhabited land which bordered one side of this road was a magnificent series of memorial arches built in close succession to each other for a considerable distance. They were composed of granite slabs, some very plain in their design, whilst others were highly artistic, and had evidently been produced by men who were masters of their craft. The general plan and execution were the same in all, but the ornamentation in some was most elaborate, and filled one with pleasure and delight to look at it.

この街道の片側に沿って長く続く人の住まぬ土地で目を引いたのは、かなりの距離にわたって次々と建ち並ぶ、見事な記念の牌楼の列であった。牌楼は花崗岩の板でできていて、たいそう簡素な意匠のものもあれば、たいそう芸術的で、明らかにその道の名匠が手がけたものもあった。全体の造りと仕上げはどれも同じであったが、なかにはこの上なく凝った飾りのものがあり、見る者を喜びと楽しさで満たした。

Every one of these arches had been erected to commemorate some person who had already passed away, but whose virtues in life had been so conspicuous that the community had determined that they should not be forgotten, but that a record of them should be handed down to posterity, not only to keep their memory fragrant, but also to provide beautiful examples for succeeding generations.

これらの牌楼はどれも、すでに世を去った人を記念して建てられたものであった。その人の生前の徳があまりに際立っていたので、共同体はそれを忘れさせまいと決め、その記録を後の世に伝えることにしたのである。その思い出を芳しく保つためばかりでなく、後に続く世代に美しい手本を示すためでもあった。

Amongst the virtues recorded on these granite slabs, the most common was that of filial piety. A son had distinguished himself by his devotion to his parents, and had sacrificed his very life in faithful service to them. In undying words the story was carved into the stone; and the two mystic characters, "Holy Will," in the centre of the middle arch showed that the Emperor had given his permission for the erection of this memorial to a virtue so admired by the whole Chinese nation.

これらの花崗岩の板に記された徳のうち、いちばん多いのは孝行であった。ある息子が両親への献身で名を上げ、両親に忠実に仕えて命さえ捧げたのである。朽ちることのない言葉でその話が石に刻まれ、中央の牌楼の真ん中にある「聖旨」という二つの神秘な文字が、中国の民すべてに讃えられるこの徳を記念して建てることを、皇帝が許したことを示していた。

Other arches, almost as numerous as those raised to dutiful sons, were those setting forth the virtues of widows who had refused to marry again after their husbands had died.

孝行な息子のための牌楼とほとんど同じくらい数多いのは、夫の死後、再婚を拒んだ寡婦の徳を讃える牌楼であった。

In one case a widow had been left in great straits, and had been compelled to struggle with poverty and privations of every kind. All these she might have avoided had she been willing to listen to the offers of marriage that were made to her. Nothing, however, could make her forget the allegiance which she believed she still owed to the man who had first won her heart, or induce her to neglect her duty to the children of her marriage. She could never consent to let them become the property of another man, who might despise and ill-treat them, and who at any rate would never have for them the kind of affection which would lead him to make the sacrifices necessary to help them towards gaining a better position in life. Accordingly, she struggled on, enduring the greatest sufferings in order to provide for the needs of her sons as they gradually grew up; and eventually, owing to the hardships which she had borne so heroically, they all passed with honour through their examinations into the service of the Emperor.

ある例では、一人の寡婦がたいそうな窮地に取り残され、貧しさとあらゆる種類の困窮と闘わねばならなかった。自分に寄せられた縁談に耳を傾ける気さえあれば、そうしたすべてを避けられたであろう。けれども何ものも、はじめに自分の心を射止めた男になお尽くすべきだと信じる忠義を忘れさせることはできず、結婚で授かった子どもたちへの務めをおろそかにさせることもできなかった。子どもたちを、彼らを蔑み虐げるかもしれない、少なくとも彼らが世の中でよりよい地位を得る助けとなるほどの犠牲を払う愛情は決して持たないであろう、よその男のものにすることなど、どうしても承知できなかったのである。そこで彼女は闘い続け、息子たちが少しずつ育つにつれてその入り用を満たすために、この上ない苦しみに耐えた。そしてついに、彼女がこれほど英雄的に耐えた辛苦のおかげで、息子たちはみな栄誉のうちに試験に合格し、皇帝に仕える身となった。

On her death her story was forwarded to the capital, and his Majesty was so much moved by it that he gave his sanction for an arch to be erected to her memory, in order that for ages to come the crowds passing daily under its shadow might read the record of her self-sacrifice, and might learn how an admiring community had built this imperishable memorial of her wifely and motherly virtues.

彼女が死ぬと、その話は都に送られた。陛下はそれにたいそう心を動かされ、その記念に牌楼を建てることを許した。これから幾代にもわたって、日々その影の下を行き交う群衆が彼女の自己犠牲の記録を読み、讃える共同体が、妻として母としての彼女の徳を記念してこの不滅の碑を建てたことを知るようにと。

But of all the numerous arches spanning the road there was one which attracted more attention than any other in the long line.

けれども街道にかかる数多くの牌楼のうち、長い列のどれよりも人目を引くものが一つあった。

This was not because the virtues of the person, in whose honour it was raised, were so conspicuous, or because they so far outrivalled those recorded on the other arches, that men were constrained to stop and ponder over a life so remarkable for its heroism.

それは、その牌楼が讃える人物の徳がとりわけ際立っていたからでも、ほかの牌楼に記された徳をはるかに凌いでいて、人々がその英雄的な生涯に足を止めて思いを巡らさずにはいられなかったからでもなかった。

On the contrary, no virtues of any kind were mentioned. On the central arch, in large letters cut into the granite stone, were the words: "The Wonderful Man"; and that was all. Not a word of explanation was given as to who this wonderful man was; not a hint as to the special story of his life.

それどころか、どんな徳もまったく記されていなかったのである。中央の牌楼には、花崗岩に大きな文字で「奇人(ふしぎなひと)」と刻まれていた。そしてそれがすべてであった。この奇人が誰なのか、ひと言の説明もなく、その生涯の特別な話をほのめかすものも何ひとつなかった。

Scholars passing along the dusty road would catch a sight of this brief but cryptic inscription, and would at once be set wondering what a phrase so unclassical and so mysterious could possibly mean. They would walk round to the other side of the arch, to see if any explanation were afforded there. But no, the inscription was simply repeated in the same cold and veiled language; and so they would pass on, no wiser than before.

埃っぽい街道を行く学者たちは、この短くも謎めいた銘を目にすると、たちまちこれほど古典に則らぬ、これほど謎めいた言葉がいったい何を意味しうるのかと訝りはじめた。牌楼の反対側へまわって、そちらに何か説明がないか見てみる。けれども、ない。同じ冷たく覆い隠された言葉で銘が繰り返されているだけであった。そうして彼らは、前と少しも賢くならぬまま通り過ぎていくのだった。

Farmers, with produce of their own growing suspended from their shoulders on stout bamboo poles, would come along at their accustomed trot, and would gaze at these words, "The wonderful man," with a curious look on their faces. They were not profound scholars, for on account of their poverty they had been compelled to leave school before they had mastered the ancient characters which make up the Chinese written language; but they knew enough to read such simple words as these. But what did the words really mean? They would laugh and joke with each other about them as they sped on their way, and many a witty suggestion would be merrily thrown out as a solution of the mystery.

丈夫な竹の天秤棒に自分の作った作物を吊るして肩に担いだ百姓たちが、いつもの小走りでやってきて、この「奇人」という文字を、好奇の色を顔に浮かべて見つめた。彼らは深い学問のある者ではなかった。貧しさのために、中国の書き言葉をなす古い文字をすっかり覚える前に学問をやめねばならなかったからである。けれどもこれくらい簡単な字なら読めた。しかし、この言葉は本当は何を意味しているのか。彼らは道を急ぎながらそれについて笑い合い冗談を言い合い、謎の答えとして気の利いた思いつきを陽気にいくつも投げ合った。

The story that really lay behind this strange inscription was after all a most romantic and a most pathetic one.

この奇妙な銘の背後に本当にあった話は、結局のところ、この上なく物語めいた、この上なく哀れな話であった。

Many years before, in a village beyond the hills skirting the plain on which the city was built, there lived a family of three; that is to say, a man and his wife and their little son. It was a supremely happy home. The husband and wife were devotedly attached to each other, and the ambition of every family amongst the four hundred millions of China had been granted them; for they had a son, who in the future would perpetuate the father's name, and present at his grave sacrificial offerings which would reach him in the Land of Shadows and keep him from starvation there.

何年も前、町の建つ平野を縁取る丘の向こうの村に、三人の家族が住んでいた。つまり、男とその妻と、小さな息子である。それはこの上なく幸せな家であった。夫と妻は互いに深く慕い合い、中国の四億の家族すべての大望が、二人には叶えられていた。息子がいたのである。息子はやがて父の名を継ぎ、父の墓に供物を捧げてくれる。その供物は冥府の国の父に届き、そこで飢えずにすむようにしてくれるのである。

The one great sorrow of the home was its poverty. There was no question but that they were exceedingly poor; and every morning, as the dawn broke upon them, they felt that they stood close up to the line beyond which lay hunger and even starvation.

この家のただ一つの大きな悲しみは、貧しさであった。二人がこの上なく貧しいことは疑いようがなかった。そして毎朝、夜が明けるたびに、その先には飢え、それどころか飢え死にが待つ境界線のすぐそばに立っていると感じるのだった。

But China is full of homes in such a situation. In this respect, indeed, the country is a land of heroes and heroines, for with vast masses of the people it is a daily struggle for food. Millions scattered throughout the Empire never or very rarely get enough to eat, and yet with splendid and pathetic patience they set themselves to suffer and to die, sternly and uncomplainingly, as becomes an Imperial race such as the Chinese are.

けれども中国には、そのような境遇の家がいくらでもある。この点で、実にこの国は英雄と女英雄の国である。膨大な数の民にとって、食べ物は日々の闘いなのだから。帝国じゅうに散らばる幾百万の人々は、食べるものが十分にあったことが一度もないか、ごく稀にしかない。それでも見事な、そして哀れな辛抱強さで、中国人のような帝王の民にふさわしく、厳しく、不平ひとつ言わずに、苦しみ、死んでいくのである。

All that this particular family had to live upon were a few diminutive fields, which under the most favourable circumstances could produce barely enough sweet potatoes to keep body and soul together, and a scanty supply of vegetables with which to season them. If the rains failed and the potato vines were parched and blasted in their ridges by the great red-hot sun, then the husband had to look out for some other means of earning enough money to provide the bare necessaries of life for his little home.

この家族が暮らしの頼みにできるのは、ほんの小さな畑がいくつかあるだけで、どれほど恵まれた条件でも、体と魂をかろうじてつなぎとめるだけの甘藷と、それに添えるわずかな野菜しか採れなかった。雨が降らず、畝の芋の蔓が赤く焼けつく大きな太陽に焦がされ枯れてしまえば、夫は小さな家のために暮らしのぎりぎりの入り用をまかなうだけの金を稼ぐ、何か別の手立てを探さねばならなかった。

Sometimes he would engage himself as a porter to carry the produce of the larger farmers to the great market-town which lay ten miles distant; but even then he could earn only just enough to provide the most meagre fare for his family for a week or two at the very most.

ときには荷担ぎに雇われ、大きな百姓の作物を十マイル離れた大きな市場町まで運んだ。けれどもそれでも稼げるのは、せいぜい一、二週間、家族にこの上なく乏しい食事を与えられるほどでしかなかった。

At other times he would secure better-paid employment by carrying a sedan-chair to some distant place, which would take him from home for several days at a time. He would return, it is true, with some goodly strings of cash, which would make his wife's eyes gleam with satisfaction at the possibilities they contained for at least another month of better food for them all; but it was dearly earned money. The man had not been trained as a chairbearer, and so had not learned the knack of manipulating the cross-bars, which rested on his shoulders, in such a way as to make the heavy burden less distressing to him. The result was that every time he returned from one of these expeditions, he was so seriously knocked up that for several days he had to lie in bed and refrain from all work.

またときには、駕籠を担いで遠くまで行く、もっと実入りのよい仕事にありついた。そうすると何日も続けて家を離れることになった。なるほど、帰ってくるときには銭をかなりの連なり持ち帰り、妻の目は、それがもたらす少なくとももうひと月のましな食事を思って満足げに輝いた。けれどもそれは高くついた金であった。男は駕籠かきとして仕込まれていなかったので、肩に載る担ぎ棒を重荷がこたえぬようにうまく扱うこつを身につけていなかった。その結果、こうした遠出から帰ってくるたびにひどく疲れ果て、何日も寝込んで、あらゆる仕事を控えねばならなかった。

Time went on, and the severe strain of his labour, and the poor quality of the food upon which he had to live, and the constant wear and tear of a constitution that never had been very strong, told upon the poor, overworked father. Gradually he became a confirmed invalid, so that he could not perform even the lightest work on his little farm. The shadows of coming misfortune grew darker and blacker every day. Hope began to abandon the hearts of husband and wife, and the sound of the footsteps of cruel Fate could almost be heard, as they drew nearer and nearer. Still these two heroic souls uttered no complaints, and there were no signs of heartbreak, except occasionally when the wife's eyes overflowed with tears, which she brushed hastily away lest her husband should see them and be distressed.

時が過ぎ、骨の折れる労働の激しい無理と、頼みにしなければならない食べ物の粗末さと、もともとさほど丈夫でなかった体の絶え間ない摩耗とが、働きすぎの哀れな父親の身にこたえてきた。しだいに彼はすっかり病の身となり、自分の小さな畑でいちばん軽い仕事さえできなくなった。迫りくる不幸の影は、日ごとにいよいよ暗く黒くなっていった。望みは夫と妻の胸から去りはじめ、残酷な運命の足音がいよいよ近づいてくるのが、ほとんど聞こえるほどであった。それでもこの二つの英雄的な魂は不平を口にせず、心の砕けた徴も見せなかった。ただときおり、妻の目に涙があふれることがあったが、夫に見られて悲しませてはいけないと、急いで拭い去るのだった。

One night the storm was blowing a north-east gale outside, and the wind howled and moaned in such weird and doleful tones around the cottage, that it seemed as though some troubled spirit had been let loose to wail out a solemn requiem over a departing soul.

ある夜、外では嵐が北東の大風となって吹き荒れ、風が小屋のまわりであまりに気味悪く悲しげな声で唸り呻いたので、まるで何か苦しむ霊が解き放たれて、去りゆく魂のために厳かな鎮魂の歌を嘆き歌っているかのようであった。

The Chinese believe that the air is filled with demons who have a mortal hatred of human beings, and who are ever on the watch to compass their destruction. These evil spirits gather round when disaster is about to fall on a home. They stand with invisible forms and peer into the darkened room, where some one lies dying, and they breathe out their delight in unholy sounds that strike terror into the hearts of the watchers.

中国の人々は、空中には人間を死ぬほど憎む悪鬼が満ちていて、いつも人を滅ぼそうと見張っていると信じている。こうした悪霊は、家に災いが降りかかろうとするときに集まってくる。見えぬ姿で立ち、誰かが死に瀕して横たわる暗い部屋を覗き込み、見守る者たちの胸を恐怖で打つ、神聖ならぬ音で喜びを吐き出すのである。

In her anxiety about her husband the wife had not been able to sleep. Her heart throbbed with an infinite pain, and suppressed sobs now and again showed the anguish of her spirit. She began to realize, during this dreadful night, that her husband was exceedingly ill and might very probably die. The storm which raged outside, and the furious blasts and the uncanny sounds in the air, had terrified her and made her nervous.

夫を案じるあまり、妻は眠ることができなかった。胸は果てしない痛みに脈打ち、ときおり押し殺したすすり泣きが、その心の苦悶を示していた。この恐ろしい夜のあいだに、妻は夫がひどく重い病で、おそらく死ぬのだと悟りはじめた。外で荒れ狂う嵐と、激しい突風と、空中の不気味な音とが、妻を怯えさせ、神経を張りつめさせていた。

It was true that only that day she had gone to the nearest temple, and had been assured by the god that her husband was going to recover; but he had been growing steadily weaker and weaker, and now the tempest had broken her courage and filled her with an unspeakable dread. What a tumult there was outside! Whose were the hideous voices that shrieked round the building, and whose were the hands that tore at the doors and windows until they shook and rattled under their grasp?

なるほど、その日のうちに妻はいちばん近い廟へ行き、夫は回復するだろうと神に請け合ってもらっていた。けれども夫はずっと弱っていくばかりで、いま嵐が妻の勇気を打ち砕き、言いようのない恐怖で満たしていた。外はなんという騒ぎであろう! 家のまわりで金切り声をあげる、あの恐ろしい声は誰のものか。戸や窓をつかんでがたがたと揺すり鳴らすまで引き裂こうとする、あの手は誰のものか。

At last she could stand it no longer. She felt she must get up and see whether the mad and furious spirits, who had evidently gathered in force around the dwelling, were going to prove to be true prophets of evil.

とうとう妻はもう耐えられなくなった。どうやら家のまわりに大勢で集まっているらしい、狂い猛る霊たちが、本当に災いを告げる予言者となるのかどうか、起きて確かめずにはいられなかった。

The room was in darkness, so she lit the tiny wick that lay in a saucer of oil, and, peering into her husband's face, she looked with all her heart in her eyes into his sunken features. He seemed to know her, for a wan and wintry smile flickered round his lips and died out in a moment. She gazed at him with an almost breaking heart, for her instinct told her that the greyness of his face and the sudden paling of his lips were the forerunners of death. A long-drawn sigh, and a sob or two, and the one who was the dearest to her in all the world had left her forever.

部屋は暗かったので、妻は油の皿に浸した小さな灯芯に火をともし、夫の顔を覗き込んで、心のすべてを目にこめて、そのやつれた面持ちを見つめた。夫は妻が分かったようであった。青ざめた冬のような微笑みが唇のまわりにひらめき、一瞬で消えたからである。妻はほとんど張り裂けそうな胸で夫を見つめた。夫の顔の灰色と、唇が急に色を失ったことが、死の先触れだと本能が告げていたからである。長く引いた溜息がひとつ、すすり泣きが一度か二度。そして世界じゅうで妻にとっていちばん愛しい人は、永遠に去ってしまった。

After the funeral, which swallowed up everything she possessed, even to the very fields, which she had been compelled to sell in order to meet the expenses, the widow was left almost destitute. She was a woman, however, with a very strong character, and she realized the absolute necessity of making up her mind at once as to her course of action. That she should marry again seemed to every one the only course open to her; but this she determined she would never do. The memory of her dead husband was too precious to her, and besides it was her duty to rear up her little son to manhood, so that he might take his place amongst the scholars and thinkers of the Empire.

葬儀で持っていたものはすべて消えた。費用をまかなうために売らねばならなかった畑までも。寡婦はほとんど無一文で取り残された。けれども彼女はたいそう芯の強い女で、すぐにも身の振り方を決めることがどうしても必要だと悟っていた。再婚することが、誰の目にも彼女に残された唯一の道だと思えた。けれども彼女は、決してそうはすまいと決めた。死んだ夫の思い出はあまりに尊く、そのうえ小さな息子を一人前の男に育て上げ、帝国の学者や思想家のあいだに席を得られるようにすることが、自分の務めだったからである。

Soon a scheme, as original as it was daring, sprang up within her brain. No one must ever learn what it was. It must be the secret of her life, which she should bury within her own bosom, and which not even her own son should ever know, if she could possibly help it.

まもなく、大胆であるのと同じくらい奇抜な一つの計画が、彼女の頭に浮かんだ。誰にも決して知られてはならない。それは生涯の秘密として、自分の胸の奥に葬らねばならず、できることなら実の息子にさえ決して知られてはならないのである。

Having sold her cottage, she moved away to a quiet suburb outside the great city which was so renowned for learning. Then she discarded her woman's attire and dressed herself as a man. In no other way could she support herself and her child, for in China a woman is always under great disadvantages in the way of earning her own living. As a man, she knew that she could hold her own in any of the unskilled employments which she was capable of taking up. And so it turned out. She could carry as heavy a load as any of the men with whom she had to compete, and she was so civil and so well-behaved and so free from the use of profane language, that employers unaware of her sex used to pick her out in preference to others who offered themselves.

小屋を売ると、彼女は学問で名高いあの大きな町の外の、静かな郊外へ移り住んだ。それから女の装いを捨て、男の身なりをした。それよりほかに自分と子どもを養う道はなかった。中国では、女は自分で暮らしを立てるうえで、いつもたいそう不利な立場にあるからである。男としてなら、自分にこなせる技の要らないどんな仕事でも、引けを取らずにやっていけると彼女は知っていた。そしてそのとおりになった。競わねばならない男たちの誰にも劣らず重い荷を担ぐことができ、そのうえたいそう礼儀正しく、行儀がよく、汚い言葉をまったく使わなかったので、彼女が女だと知らない雇い主たちは、申し出るほかの者よりも彼女を選んで雇った。

The years went by, and her little son was growing up to be a fine young man. The mother had determined that he should be a scholar. This was the one ambition of her life, and for this she slaved and toiled and denied herself almost the very necessaries of life.

年月が過ぎ、小さな息子は立派な若者に育っていった。母は、息子を学者にすると心に決めていた。それが生涯のただ一つの大望であり、そのために母は奴隷のように働き、骨を折り、暮らしのほとんどぎりぎりの入り用さえ自分に禁じた。

Twenty years had passed since that stormy night. In the neighbouring city, the triennial examinations were just finished and the excitement was intense amongst the thousands of students who gathered round the Examination Hall to learn the names of the successful candidates.

あの嵐の夜から二十年が過ぎた。近くの町では三年ごとの科挙がちょうど終わったところで、合格者の名を知ろうと試験場のまわりに集まった何千という書生たちのあいだで、興奮はこの上なく高まっていた。

By-and-by the son came home with a light step and with his eyes flashing with delight. His excitement was so great that he could hardly utter distinctly the words which rushed from his lips.

やがて息子が、足取りも軽く、喜びに目を輝かせて帰ってきた。その興奮はあまりに大きく、唇からほとばしる言葉をはっきり言うこともままならなかった。

"Father," he cried, "the great desire of your heart and of mine has been granted to us to-day. I have passed, and that too with honours, for my name stands at the very top of the list of those who have been adjudged successful. And now, my beloved father, there will be no more hard work for you. My name will soon be flashed throughout the Province and will be posted in every Confucian guild, and scholars everywhere will speak with admiration of the great success I have won. My fortune has indeed been made, and it is due entirely to your self-denial, and to the sufferings and hardships you have consented to endure, during the long years of the past, that I have at length come into my kingdom, and that I need not be a labouring man, earning but a few cash a day, as you, my dear father, have been willing to do for the love of me."

「父上」と息子は叫んだ。「父上の、そしてわたしの心の大いなる願いが、今日叶えられました。わたしは合格しました、それも栄誉をもって。わたしの名は合格者の名簿のいちばん上にあるのです。そしていま、愛しい父上、もう父上がつらい仕事をなさることはありません。わたしの名はまもなく省じゅうに知れわたり、どの儒学の会館にも貼り出され、至るところで学者たちが、わたしの得た大成功を讃えて語ることでしょう。わたしの身代はまことに築かれました。そしてわたしがついに自分の王国に入り、父上がわたしを愛するがゆえに進んでなさってきたように、一日にわずかな銭しか稼げない労働者にならずにすんだのは、ひとえに、過ぎ去った長い年月のあいだ、父上が己を顧みず、苦しみと辛苦に耐えることを承知してくださったおかげなのです。」

All the time her son was talking, the mother's face shone with delight, for the hopes and wishes of a lifetime had come to her with a rush that almost overpowered her.

息子が話しているあいだじゅう、母の顔は喜びに輝いていた。生涯の望みと願いが、ほとんど圧倒されるほどの勢いで押し寄せてきたからである。

"Ah! if only my husband could have been with us now," she thought, "to share with us the supreme joy of this moment!" And her memory wandered back to that dreadful night, the blackest she had ever known in her life; and the roar of the storm which had thundered round the poor little shanty of a home and the ominous wailings of the spirits of evil which had struck a chill into her very blood, once more sounded in her ears as though the tragedy had happened only the night before.

「ああ! 夫がいまここにいて、この瞬間のこの上ない喜びを分かち合えたなら!」と母は思った。そしてその思い出は、生涯でいちばん暗かったあの恐ろしい夜へとさまよい戻った。貧しいちっぽけな小屋のまわりに轟いた嵐の咆哮と、血まで凍らせた悪霊たちの不吉な嘆きの声が、まるであの悲劇がつい昨夜起きたことのように、もう一度耳に響いた。

In the fulness of the new joy which had suddenly transformed his life, the son went on to talk of the plans that he had been mapping out for the future. There would be no lack of money any more, he said, for employment would open up to him in all directions. He would be invited by the wealthy men of the city to teach their sons. He was a notable scholar now, and men of means would compete with each other to secure his services.

突然その生を一変させた新しい喜びに満たされて、息子はこれから思い描いてきた計画のことを話し続けた。もう金に困ることはない、と息子は言った。至るところで働き口が開けるだろうから。町の金持ちたちが、息子たちに教えてくれと自分を招くだろう。いまや自分は名の知れた学者なのだから、財のある人々は自分を雇おうと互いに競い合うだろう。

Before long too, he would be certain to obtain a government appointment which would bring riches into the home; and then his father would be a gentleman, and would live with him in his yamen, and be treated by all with honour and respect. And so with glowing face and glistening eyes, as the visions of the future rose up before him, the boy talked on with the enthusiasm of youth, whilst his mother gazed at him with admiring eyes.

それにほどなく、きっと家に富をもたらす官職を得られるだろう。そうすれば父上は紳士となって、自分の役所でいっしょに暮らし、誰からも敬われ尊ばれるだろう。こうして、未来の幻が目の前に立ち昇るにつれ、顔を輝かせ目をきらめかせて、若者は若さの熱情のままに話し続けた。母は讃えるような目で息子を見つめていた。

At last he suddenly stopped. The laughter died out of his countenance, and with a grave and solemn face he exclaimed, "Father, I want you to tell me where my mother is buried. I must arrange to go to her grave and make the proper offerings to her spirit, and tell her how her son has prospered, and how grateful he is to her. That is my duty as a filial son, and I must not delay in performing it."

とうとう息子は突然話をやめた。笑いが顔から消え、真剣で厳かな面持ちになって、息子は声を上げた。「父上、母上がどこに葬られているのか教えていただきたいのです。母上の墓へ参って、その霊にしかるべき供物を捧げ、息子がどれほど栄えたか、どれほど母上に感謝しているかを告げる手筈を整えねばなりません。それは孝行な息子としてのわたしの務めで、果たすのを遅らせてはならないのです。」

The young fellow did not notice the deadly pallor that spread over his parent's face as he uttered these words. He did not know that they produced a feeling of despair in the heart of his mother, for she now felt that she had come to the end of her life. She was a true and noble woman, with a high ideal of what a woman's life ought to be, and she dared not face the opinion of the world when it was discovered that she had lived as a man, and for many years had freely mingled with men. She had violated the laws of etiquette which regulate the conduct of women in every grade of society, and now the only thing left for her to do was to die.

若者は、この言葉を口にしたとき親の顔に広がった死人のような蒼白さに気づかなかった。その言葉が母の胸に絶望をもたらしたことを知らなかった。母はいまこそ自分の生が尽きたと感じたのである。彼女はまことの気高い女であり、女の生がどうあるべきかについて高い理想を抱いていた。自分が男として暮らし、長年のあいだ男たちのあいだに自由に交わってきたと知られたときの世間の目に、向き合う勇気はなかった。あらゆる身分の女の振る舞いを定める礼法を、自分は破ってきたのだ。そしていま、自分に残された道は死ぬことだけであった。

Next morning, at sunrise, when the son entered his father's room, as was his daily custom, he found him lying upon his bed, dead, but marvellous to say, dressed in a woman's clothes. That the death was not accidental could be seen at a glance. The body lay prepared as if for a funeral. The clothes and the dressing of the hair, and the other minute details necessary in laying out a body for burial, had all been attended to. No outside hands need touch her, and no curious or unsympathetic eyes be gratified by peering too deeply into the mystery of her life.

翌朝、日の出に、息子が日々の習いどおり父の部屋に入ると、父は寝台に横たわって死んでいた。けれども不思議なことに、女の衣をまとっていたのである。その死が偶然でないことはひと目で分かった。亡骸はまるで葬儀のために整えられたように横たわっていた。衣も、髪の結い方も、埋葬のために亡骸を整えるのに必要なほかの細かなことも、すべて済ませてあった。よその手が彼女に触れる必要はなく、好奇の目や情けのない目が、彼女の生の秘密をあまりに深く覗き込んで満足することもないように。

The story spread with wonderful rapidity from the suburbs into the city. There it was discussed in every home, gentle and simple. The universal feeling was one of intense admiration for the devotion and heroism which had caused the mother to sacrifice her life for her son, and the mandarins and scholars petitioned the Emperor to issue an edict permitting an arch to be erected in order that the memory of such a noble woman should be kept alive for ever.

この話は驚くほどの速さで郊外から町へと広まった。町では身分の高い家でも低い家でも、どの家でもこの話が語り合われた。誰もが抱いた思いは、母に息子のためにその命を捧げさせた献身と英雄的な心への、深い讃嘆であった。そして役人と学者たちは、これほど気高い女の思い出を永遠に生かしておくために牌楼を建てることを許す勅令を出してくださるよう、皇帝に請願した。

This petition was granted; and it was decided that the inscription to be carved upon the arch should consist simply of these words: "THE WONDERFUL MAN."

この請願は聞き届けられた。そして牌楼に刻む銘は、ただこの言葉だけとすることに決まった。「奇人(ふしぎなひと)」。